Green Living: Festival time

Coming up this weekend is the more family friendly Big Chill, while still to come are V, Reading and Leeds.

Green issues are a big deal for most festivals as consumers and promoters are more aware of the impact of thousands of people descending on fields, doing their business and then stumbling back home. Instilling a sense of responsibility in hedonistic festival fans can be a tricky task.

We were delighted to learn this week that one of the festivals we've been working with, Isle of Wight, has been awarded a Greener Festival Award.

This recognises the steps the organisers have taken to reduce the impact that transport, energy and waste can have on the site of their event. It's not just about extra litter pickers and biodegradable plates.

This year's Isle of Wight Festival tried targeting attendees with Twitter updates to remind them to take their waste home with them, and produced reusable signage.

Later this month the Wharf plays host to a fantastic line up of musicians as part of the Jazz Festival in Canada Square Park. If you're heading along you can make life better for everyone by taking your litter away.

And if you're heading away to a bigger festival in the next few weeks, think about investing in a decent tent rather than a £20 glorified bin bag from your supermarket.
"Buy it and bin it" tents are one of the biggest sustainable issues for festival organisers, so remember - a tent is for life, not just for Glasto.

- Do you or your company have an environmentally friendly product or service you'd like featured in this column? Let us know by contacting Seventeen, a sustainable alternative for your event management needs, at andrew@seventeenevents.co.uk.